Monthly Archives: February 2012

Totally shocked! How did I miss these? I’ve been an avid stationery store lurker since way back when. Matter of fact, just the other day I found a small 3 page paper booklet titled ‘How to Write a Short Story’ dated 1988. Yup. I can even recall the stationery store where I bought it for $2.00. Not the name, but I remember the oversized warehouse style building where I spent many a lunch hour back in the day when I worked full-time as a legal secretary. That was just one of my writerly haunts I would visit during those memorable hours.

So when a writer friend mentioned Moleskin journals in a blog post months ago, I made a note of it. And then promptly forgot to look into them. Until a recent visit to Target when my daughter said she needed a new notebook. Being a notebook-aholic I was all too happy to follow her down that aisle. Just in case I needed another notebook to add to my collection of several dozen 😀 And while scanning the shelves the word ‘Moleskin’ jumped out at me.

Again, because it bears repeating, how did I miss these? Moleskin journals come in a variety of sizes and colors. Some journals have a specific use like the wine journal or the travel journal. There are reporter notebooks, story board notebooks and sketch books. Now as a notebook junkie I almost wondered what the thrill was. Until I caressed that soft leather cover, opened it up and found a small paper insert with the history of the Moleskin journal.

It seems the Moleskin is fashioned after a simple black rectangle notebook with rounded corners and elastic page holder that the likes of Hemingway, Chatwin, Picasso and van Gogh used. Bruce Chatwin was actually the one who dubbed these notebooks Moleskin. By the 1980s these sturdy, elegant notebooks became increasingly scarce until 1997, when a small Milanese publisher revived these legendary notebooks. One characteristic of the Moleskin that you will not get with any spiral or hard cover notebook is the expandable pocket at the back, perfect for little notes that most writers need to store somewhere safe for future reference.

After getting over sticker shock, for these notebooks do not go for a few measly dollars, I knew I had to have at least one. Depending on which Moleskin you go with, size, purpose and such, you can expect to pay anywhere from $9.99 to $20. Now as someone who is used to buying handfuls of notebooks at the dollar store, I had to practically pull that $20 out from my toes. But oh it is so worth it. Moleskins have sturdy hard covers that make them durable for toting around in oversized pocket books that already include everything but the kitchen sink. It may be all in my head, but the ink just seems to flow as I write in my bright orange Moleskin. Love it, love it, love it!

If you’re a writer, or just someone who likes notebooks for whatever you use it for, check them out at http://www.moleskineus.com/. Let me know what you think….and which one you ordered for yourself. And if like me you prefer to touch and drool over your notebooks before you bring them home, you can find a limited collection at Target and a good selection at Barnes & Noble.